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Manipulative activities are a popular learning tool that promotes the effectiveness on scientific and technological education. Aiming to promote its widespread use in all possible areas, in 2003 it was established the educational network "Hands-on Science" (HSci) in the frame of the Socrates program of the European Commission. It enrolled initially twenty-eight institutions from ten European countries (BE, CY, DE, ES, MO, MT, PT, RO, SL, UK) and a multinational consortium (CoLoS). Once finished the three-year project the network was established as an international association with the same purposes and philosophy. In an open and open-minded and participated way we approach and involve teachers, schools and educational boards, presenting, discussing and implementing well-established practices of the learning of Science and Technology. Its objective is to promote the development and use of manipulative activities in formal and informal learning, so that students "do" science rather than simply being "exposed" to it, while in the same time increasing society' scientific literacy. In this paper we will briefly present the main objectives, pedagogical strategies and proposals of the network as well as the outstanding achievements so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Edgar Morin's framework of Complex Thinking the paper explores a perspective of Science Education which goes beyond the traditional disciplinary approach. This argument is illustrated with examples of dialogic relationships of Science and Fine Arts and clues are put forward of how to explore such dialogic relationships in an educational context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper pretends to propose a defense of presentism as a form of historical narrative of science. First of all, the foundational ideas that sustain the attack on presentism as a way of doing the history of science will be presented. Next, we will present some arguments that have been offered as a defense of presentism from the theory of the history of science. Finally, we shall give a defense of presentism from the teaching of science that may cancel the negative visions about the Historian-Scientist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no doubt that we live in an increasingly influenced science and technology society. This paper shows the concepts of science and technology and the relationships between them. In the first part we make an approach to science and technology meanings, discussing them from a systemic perspective of their practices. Going beyond technical aspects we also include social, cultural and personal dimensions. In the second part we analysed with detail, the complex relationships between science and technology through five theoretical models, illustrated with several historic examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]